Editing The Savage Sun (section)

===Defiling and Preserving===

Wizardry is unique in that it taps into the life-force of nearby living things to manifest supernatural effects. When used with care and consideration, this does no harm to the biosphere as a whole; this form of wizardry is known as ''preserving.'' However, a reckless or desperate wizard can simply rip out the power that they want, stealing life-force to power their magic; this is known as ''defiling.'' The difference is not well understood by the common folk of Athas, who know only that wizardry is what reduced their world to its current blasted, ruined state; as a result, wizards and anyone capable of wizardly magic are hated and feared.

Normal spellcasting (using Arcane Background: Wizardry) is assumed to be preserving by default: the wizard skims off just enough life-force to power their spells, taking care not to cause permanent harm. Whenever a wizard casts a spell, they have the option to ''defile'' instead. If the wizard succeeds on their Spellcasting roll, defiling grants them an automatic raise, allowing them to cast their spells to greater effect. This still requires the initial Spellcasting roll to succeed; if the wizard does not succeed, defiling grants them no additional benefits.

When a wizard uses defiling magic, regardless of whether or not their Spellcasting roll succeeds, the land pays a price. All the plant life within a radius equal to three yards times the power's rank is instantly killed, reduced to dead gray ash. This area is halved in areas of dense vegetation (such as a forest), or doubled in areas of scant vegetation (such as sandy desert or rocky badlands).

In addition, all living creatures other than inanimate plants in the area suffer intense pain, and must succeed on a Vigor roll or take a penalty equal to the spell's rank on all Trait rolls until the end of their next turn. Undead and constructs are immune to this effect.